


But in the same direction

by softlyforgotten



Category: Bandom
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-29
Updated: 2010-08-29
Packaged: 2017-10-22 22:35:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/243325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softlyforgotten/pseuds/softlyforgotten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He couldn't remember whose hands had left them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	But in the same direction

**Author's Note:**

> For [](http://auberryroad.livejournal.com/profile)[**auberryroad**](http://auberryroad.livejournal.com/) 's prompt of "bites/bruises".

  


> I don't just want  
> your heart  
> I want your flesh,  
> your skin  
> and blood and bones,  
> your voice, your thoughts  
> your pulse  
> and most of all your  
> fingerprints,  
> everywhere.
> 
> \-- Isobel Thrilling

Ryan picked Z up from the airport. He got there early enough to beat her to baggage, watch her standing at the carousal with the others, looking progressively more tired and annoyed as each new bag that wasn't hers went around. It took her about ten minutes to notice him, by which time Tennessee, Laena, and Annie had gotten all their luggage. Ryan raised his hand and waved cheerfully.

Z was laughing when she reached him. "You're a jerk," she said, and Ryan pushed his sunglasses up to the top of his head, blinking innocently from his spot perched on top of her suitcase.

"Hi," he said. "How was tour," and Z leaned in and kissed him, nipping at his bottom lip. She thumped him in the arm at the same time, always harder than Ryan expected. He leaned into her a little more, sighing.

"Jerk," Z repeated when she broke away, and Ryan made a pitiful face, rubbing at his sore arm. Z's grin widened.

\---

Z was weird when she finished touring. Ryan supposed every musician he knew was weird when they finished touring, in one way or another. He'd never met another one who felt the need to take Ryan home, ride him with his wrists pinned tight above his head, and then kick him out of their apartment, though.

"I'm beginning to feel used," Ryan complained, following Z into the bathroom as he buttoned up his shirt.

"You'll get dinner and cuddles later, darling," Z said absently, leaning over to turn the water on. "I want a bath. I'm going to put on that mix Annie gave me and sit there being clean for _hours_."

"I could join you." Ryan gave her a winning smile.

"Yeah, I don't think so." Z's answering smile was positively wicked, but she went up on her toes to wind her arms around his neck and kiss him sweet and warm. Then she broke away, giving him a little push backwards. "Go on, leave me alone. There must be someone else you can bother."

Ryan cocked his head to the side, unsure about that phrasing. Z smirked at him.

"Shoo," she said.

\---

Vincent opened the door and peered out at Ryan. "Dude," he said. "Run while you can."

Ryan raised his eyebrows. "What's going on?"

"Horror," Vincent said. "Horror and reckless destruction."

"Is that Ryan?" Alex skidded through the hallway door, beaming at him. "Hey, man, come check this out." He reached out and took Ryan's hand, winding their fingers together and tugging him past Vincent and down into Alex's room.

"Wow," Ryan said. "Did you decide to look at everything you own?"

There was stuff scattered all across the floor, clothes and records and books and paper, and the eight million ridiculous pieces of nerdy memorabilia that followed Alex everywhere he went.

"I'm cleaning," Alex said. "And sorting _everything_."

"It's very impressive," Ryan said.

"Thank you," Alex said, and drew Ryan over with him to a tiny space on the floor for them to sit. Ryan settled down next to him, leaning a little against Alex's side. He wasn't used to Alex being back in LA yet, mostly because Alex still seemed to be flying back to London every few months. It meant that hanging out with Alex still felt kind of special. Alex hadn't let go of Ryan's hand.

"Did you pick Z up this morning?" Alex asked. He pulled his fingers away from Ryan's, picking Ryan's hand up in both of his and running his thumb lightly along Ryan's wrist. Ryan looked down and saw the bruises Z had left there, already coming in dark, but Alex wasn't looking at the bruises. He was watching Ryan's face, head cocked to the side, smiling crookedly.

"Yeah," Ryan said slowly. He'd gotten in trouble for this before, though he tried to be clearer these days. He didn't think anything was wrong. It hadn't been before. He smiled hesitantly. "She kicked me out."

Alex laughed, bright and delighted. He shifted around suddenly, straddling Ryan's lap.

"I know," Alex said. "She texted me, said you were on your way over here."

Ryan paused. "I didn't tell her that."

"Huh," Alex said cheerfully. "Weird. Can I suck your dick?"

\---

Z and Ryan had one conversation about monogamy. It consisted of Z saying, "Yeah, I'm not a big fan," and then, "Use condoms, okay?"

Ryan had never thought that much about it before, had never doubted it before. Two days later, though, when Z laughed over a mark on the inside of his thigh and Ryan rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, Alex is fucking dangerous with his teeth," and Z went still, he wondered if maybe he had made a mistake. If maybe there was some sort of etiquette here that he wasn't aware of. Sometimes Z seemed light years ahead of him when it came to everything, moving faster than Ryan could keep up with.

"Z," Ryan said, and Z shook her head a little and winked at him.

"Boys are filthy creatures," she said, and curled her hand around the base of his cock. Ryan let his head fall back against the pillow, hoping for a return to the blowjob, but instead he felt the lightest touch of Z's mouth against his thigh, against the mark. Alex had bitten there because he knew Ryan was sensitive, and now he was more so. It made Ryan twist a little, hissing a breath out between his teeth.

"Hmmn," Z said, and let her teeth drag. Ryan swore.

"Z," he said. "Please."

"Okay," Z said, and pushed Ryan's thighs apart, hands firm on his skin, fingers digging in a little. She pressed her mouth hot against him, and it wasn't his dick this time, either, but Ryan wasn't complaining.

\---

Ryan stumbled home that night half-asleep, because Jon was coming around to practice around lunchtime the next day and if Ryan didn't go home then, he wouldn't go home at all. The next morning, he woke up to Alex climbing into bed behind him and sliding a hand down the curve of Ryan's ass, two slick fingers pressing lightly at him. Ryan jerked awake with a gasp.

"Were you at Z's last night?" Alex asked, oddly urgent.

"What?" Ryan shook his head, trying to wake up, and then moaned when Alex slipped his fingers in. He was still stretched from last night. Z was good with her hands.

"Never mind," Alex said, voice warm the way it always got when he was smiling. He slid one leg between Ryan's, keeping him spread awkwardly, and pushed into him, no more warning than that. Ryan cried out.

Alex bit into his shoulder, hard enough that Ryan was gasping and pushing back against him and telling him to stop, all at once, and Alex did, teeth releasing. He kissed over the skin, repentant, and Ryan shuddered and let his head fall back against Alex's shoulder, angling for a proper kiss.

"Sorry," Alex said, but he was smiling and so was Ryan.

\---

Alex left before Jon arrived, and Ryan was sitting noodling around on his guitar when Jon got there. He was feeling content and loose-limbed and in the mood for music, but Jon was fidgety and easily distracted and kept getting out his phone to check for new text messages. Ryan figured there was something up with Cassie, or maybe Tom, something back home, and suggested that they call it a day.

Z texted him before Jon left, telling him that she and the girls and the Nicks were at Michael Runion's place, if he wanted to come join. Jon looked up eagerly when Ryan read it out loud, and Ryan was happy enough to go along.

When he got there, Tennessee and Nick White were already in Michael's pool, and Ryan decided that was what he wanted, too. He didn't have his trunks with him, so he settled for draping his shirt and his trousers carefully over the back of a chair and heading towards the water in his boxers.

"Dude," Jon said, stopping him on the way. "What the hell, did you get attacked?"

He reached out and touched the mark on Ryan's right shoulder blade, and Ryan hissed at the touch. It felt sensitive, almost hot. He laughed and said something that made no sense about being clumsy, even though it was unmistakably a bite mark. Jon wouldn't look for any further information, anyway. He'd been pretty dismayed by the whole Keltie thing. Z was really just as prone to biting as Alex, but Jon probably wouldn't guess that.

Ryan only looked back over his shoulder when he actually got into the water. Z was watching him, tapping her fingernail against a glass thoughtfully.

\---

Ryan and Z went to the movies. The chairs were the kind where the armrest could be lifted up, and Z curled up against Ryan's side, mostly sitting on his seat, her legs curled around on the empty space. Ryan had his hand on her thigh, against the cloth of her dress but with his fingers brushing the hem, her bare skin.

The movie was good, but not that good. Every breath Ryan took smelled like Z, and she was light and warm against him. He slid his hand around, tiptoeing it up underneath her dress, and Z settled in closer against Ryan and laughed, soft and pleased.

Ryan tiptoed his fingers up Z's leg until he could brush against the thin cotton of her underwear. He ran his finger right up the centre of her, applying enough pressure that he could get her underwear damp, and Z exhaled roughly.

Ryan looked over his shoulder. There was no one sitting behind them, and only a few people down in the seats below. He looked back at Z, raised his eyebrows in question.

"Yeah," Z said, and Ryan wondered what she was asking for, agreeing to. He pushed her upright gently, getting off the chair and down onto his knees. The seat in front pressed against his back uncomfortably, but he ignored it, busy rolling Z's underwear down and off. Z got touchy when it tangled around her ankles, didn't like being trapped like that, and Ryan handed the little ball of cotton up to Z.

She put it in her handbag, grinning wickedly down at him, and Ryan bit his lip on a laugh. It was best to give any discarded clothes to Z straight away. They'd tried the public sex thing a couple of times, and Ryan had a bad habit of forgetting to give Z her underwear back, or of leaving it wherever they'd been. He'd lost her favourite pair, that way, and she still brought it up when she was mad at him.

Z was wet and hot under his lips, his tongue. Ryan slid two fingers inside her, careful, because Z liked having something to clench down on, and caught her clit between his lips, trying to keep the pressure even, not attempting anything particularly fancy, just being as quiet as possible. Z was barely making any noise at all; tiny hitches in her breathing were pretty much the only signals Ryan had to go by. Ryan crooked his fingers inside her, and Z pushed her hips up, moving around so she could hook her legs over his shoulders, her heels a strange pressure on his back.

It was cramped but Z tasted so good, and underneath her skirt everything was dark and hot and secret. Ryan pressed a kiss against her clit, and Z giggled. Then she tightened her thighs for a moment, enough pressure to remind him what he was meant to be doing.

Ryan knew Z pretty well, these days. He got her off as quickly as he could, and when she came he pulled away, didn't make her squirm. Z didn't like being touched right after an orgasm, and sometimes Ryan played with that, because if he persisted anyway it made her come again, fast and hard. Usually, though, she complained loudly for a while before she got to that point, and that wasn't the best thing to do just now, Ryan knew.

He moved away, sitting back on his heels and blinking, and Z tugged him up by his collar.

"Thanks," she whispered, kissing him, and Ryan kissed back, curling his tongue around hers, liking the way her breath stuttered again at the taste. He was hard but not urgently so, and that was probably a good thing, because he wasn't as good at being quiet as Z was. She shifted to the side, leaving room for him to sit down and pulling her underwear back on (Ryan was a little disappointed despite himself), and then settled almost completely in his lap, rubbing back against his erection. Ryan dropped his head, hiding his face against the curve of the back of her neck, rethinking just how soon he needed to come.

"Z?" he mumbled.

"Shush," she said, eyes glued on the screen, "this is the good bit," and Ryan bit back a groan. He sat quiet for the rest of the movie, though, even when Z slid herself lazily along the line of his erection through his trousers. When he felt like he couldn't keep still, couldn't hold back a noise, something in his breathing changed and Z slid her hand down Ryan's forearm, fingers digging into his skin.

Later, Alex would kiss each of those bruises, smiling like he had a secret.

\---

Ryan lay in Z's bed and dozed while she gave a phone interview. She was all dressed up to do it, even though there was no photoshoot and they didn't have any plans for the day. Ryan didn't laugh at her, all the same. "Getting into character," she had said, putting on her eyelashes, and Ryan had kissed her hand so he didn't mess up her lipstick.

"No, I try not to buy into that," Z said. "We've had a rough time the last few years, and there have definitely been things that didn't go our way. But I'm proud of what we are, I'm proud of what we turned into. Who knows exactly how much of the bad stuff turned us into something good?"

The interviewer said something, and Z laughed.

"The only things I regret," she said, still smiling, "are things that I should have done, if I was braver."

She paused, and looked over her shoulder at Ryan. Ryan waggled his fingers at her in a little wave.

"I'm getting over that, though," Z said. "This year, I want to be fearless."

\---

"Hey," Alex said, and Ryan tried to wake himself up enough to respond. It was late, though, and he was feeling sore and content and a little sticky. If he woke up too much, he'd want to shower, and that would be boring. Also it was almost certain that Alex wouldn't follow him in, which made it even more boring.

"Hmm," Ryan managed, after a moment.

Alex huffed a laugh, nuzzled up to the side of Ryan's face, kissing his temple. Ryan squinted open one eye.

"I'm going to sleep," he said, voice thick.

"I know," Alex said. "Just – hey, Ryan, hey—"

His hand was on Ryan's shoulder, pushing him up a little, and Ryan shifted onto his side, letting Alex lean in and kiss him, startlingly sweet.

Ryan blinked a little, for the first time wishing he was more awake. "What?"

"Nothing," Alex said. "I just like you."

"Okay," Ryan said, a little bemused, and Alex laughed and tucked himself in against Ryan's side and fell asleep without a second thought.

Ryan decided to follow his example.

\---

Z bit a line down Ryan's ribcage, precise little circles that didn't get larger or smaller for days; Alex slammed Ryan up against a wall when he got back from another impromptu trip to England, said, "Hi, I missed you," and dug his thumbs into the soft skin just above Ryan's hipbones, making him squirm and then groan. Z left a hickey on Ryan's neck and Alex left one just next to it, so close that they overlapped a little and Ryan wore scarves again for a week through the sunny LA fall. When he complained, Z laughed and reminded him of the time he had accidentally sprained her wrist trying out a move that hadn't been that impressive anyway; Alex just smiled, conciliatory, and offered to kiss it better.

"Jesus, Ryan," Jon said one day, when Ryan rolled up his sleeves and reached for a guitar.

"What?" Ryan said.

Jon looked pointedly at the circle of bruises around Ryan's wrists that were pretty much a constant presence these days, like another set of tattoos. They were purple and yellow, and they ached pleasantly. Ryan thought they were beautiful.

He couldn't remember whose hands had left them, Alex or Z. Probably it had been both.

\---

Occasionally, Jon decided to throw barbeques. As he was still firmly insistent that he lived in Chicago, he usually hosted these at Ryan's house, which Ryan was okay with; Jon cooked, and usually would come around the next day to help tidy up a bit, and it meant Ryan could sleep in longer before getting ready.

He woke up on the afternoon of one particular day to the chatter of people already outside and Z curled warm and still in his arms. Ryan disentangled himself as best he could and went to get dressed. He was doing up the top buttons of his shirt when he left the bedroom and bumped into Alex in the kitchen.

"Hey," he said, and gave Alex a hug.

"Hi." Alex's gaze had focused in on Ryan's collarbone, and he reached out to touch the fading yellow mark there, fingers oddly gentle.

Ryan made a sheepish face, and stepped out of Alex's reach, doing the next button and hiding the mark. Alex laughed.

"C'mon, Jon's doing tofu burgers," he said, like that was an incentive.

The shadows were starting to lengthen by the time Z finally emerged. Ryan wasn't surprised; they'd had an Audrey Hepburn movie marathon that had almost lasted all night, and Z was grumpy about getting a full eight hours. She didn't look it now, though, wearing her favourite dress and with her eye make-up just right. Ryan waved at her from where he was sitting with Laena, and Z came across and leaned on his shoulder.

"Hey," she said. Ryan put an arm around her waist and she smiled at him, a little distracted.

"So Tennessee's talking about a thrift store trip this weekend," Laena said. "Are you going to try and talk her out of the colour coordination this time? I think it's just a little too much."

"Someone used to be in cool bands," Ryan said. "You've got to get over that. Wear your uniform with pride, Geronimo."

"You're mixing me up with Annie," Laena told him, smiling. "She's the one we have to talk out of arthouse projections on the back of the stage every show."

"Can't take the college out of the girl, I guess," Ryan said.

"Yeah," Laena said. "Anyway, Z, what do you think? Z. Z."

"What?" Z said, and Ryan looked to see what she was paying attention to instead of them.

Alex was leaning on the fence on the other side of Ryan's backyard, hands in his pockets, smiling very slightly. His eyes were on Z, and there was something nervous and glad at once in Z's expression. Ryan darted a look between them, startled and confused, and a lot of things slotted very quietly into place.

Alex raised one hand and pointed it into a fingergun, aiming it at Z and taking fire. Z opened her mouth in surprise and clutched at her heart, stumbling backwards. Across the yard, Alex cracked up laughing.

"Huh," Ryan said.

Z turned to him, smiling. "I'll see you in a little while, guys," she said, and squeezed Ryan's arm once before she pulled herself out from his hold and walked away, back into the house. Ryan watched her leave. When he turned around, Alex was watching her too.

Ryan excused himself from Laena and went over to sit on a stool near Jon by the barbecue. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Alex pushed himself up from the fence and started to follow after Z.

"Alex and Z are kind of creepy," Ryan said.

"What?" Jon looked at him, half-smiling. "Did you only just work it out?"

"I think they just used me as some weird sort of courtship ritual," Ryan said.

Jon stared at him. "Wow."

"Yeah." Ryan scratched his head idly, wondering what was going on inside, whether Alex had caught up with Z yet. He was willing to bet they'd both be smiling. He wondered what they'd look like together; he wondered if it was the first time. When he stretched slightly, his body ached with the pressure of their hands and mouths.

"I'm sorry?" Jon offered, looking confused.

"Nah," Ryan said. "I think it'll work out okay."


End file.
